


We Get On

by Talulabelle



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bastardization of Norse Mythology, F/M, Gratuitous usage of pop culture, avengersfest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-01-18
Packaged: 2017-11-26 00:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/644707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talulabelle/pseuds/Talulabelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is, seriously, Darcy’s life. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2012 Avengersfest.
> 
> Thank you, as always, to my awesome friends and betas Meinterrupted and Sigridhr.

Have you ever had a moment where you had to stop and ask if this is, seriously, your life?

For Darcy Lewis that happens on an almost daily occasion.

It all started when a god fell out of the sky and Jane (totally Jane, not her) hit him with the van. From there things only got more surreal as they were introduced to the fact that they weren't really alone. There were whole other planets and dimensions out there, with people and other creatures and things. Meeting Thor's friends was actually pretty damn cool - Sif was awesome, Fandral flirted like there was no tomorrow, Volstagg was hilarious and Hogun had that whole silent yet deadly thing going on - if you forgot about Thor's psychotic brother sending a giant fire breathing robot thing to destroy them all.

But Thor saved the day (after dying - it was still a little weird) and things went back to normal.

Well, as normal as they could get when your boss was in a long (long, _long_ ) distance relationship with the god of thunder.

Actually, it was almost a little boring after that. No more gods falling from the sky, no more bifrost or giant robots. Just notes to transcribe and poptarts to replenish. And then, one night, she and Jane were practically dragged out of bed to be sent off to the middle of nowhere in the middle of nowhere (A.K.A Tromso, Norway) because Thor's psychotic brother was back.

Jane was, understandably, not pleased. Even more so when she found out that Thor was back as well, but hadn't bothered to try to contact her.

A limited amount of information on what was going in New York City filtered its way through to the observatory in Tromso, but they got the gist of it; Loki had an army of aliens (she was still pissed about missing out on the aliens) and was trying to take over the earth. He failed, obviously, because they weren't all members of his army of mindless slaves. They got forgotten in the chaos of cleaning up the mess, so it wasn’t until nearly a month after the attack that they returned to New Mexico.

And after all of that, Darcy was ready for normal. For boring. For nights of staying up light drinking entirely too much coffee while trying to decipher Jane’s notes.

Now, three months later, that normal and boring she’d longed for was actually sticking firm. And considering how things changed so much the last time around, she should have known better to expect it to stay like that.

She’s alone in the van tonight; Jane and Erik were off at some conference or meeting or whatever, and she’d managed to beg out of it. It took several lectures and some bribery involving poptarts, but eventually Jane trusted Darcy enough with her babies - a.k.a the equipment - and left very clear instructions on what data to record. There was a slight spike in one of the readings tonight, but nothing big enough that would signify the reopening of the bifrost. Still, it was worth investigating and it got her out of the lab.

In the end it was nothing, just a glitch. Or at least that’s what she’s assuming since Jane is the one with the PhD and not her. She scribbles a few notes down and adds in a reminder to double check the calibrations on the equipment in the morning before pulling off. And that’s when she hits it.

Or _him_ , rather.

The first thing out of her mouth as she scrambles out of the van to see who she’s hit (and, okay, this time it is totally her fault) this time is, “Seriously?” 

The lack of flowing blond locks lets her know that she at least hasn’t hit Jane’s boyfriend (again), but the darker hair makes her grab her tazer. She can already get a decent enough look from a few feet away but she goes in closer just to make sure that her assumption is true.

“Shit.”

It’s Thor’s brother, Loki. As in, sent the giant robot thing to kill them then tried to destroy New York City, Loki. Loki who was supposedly locked up and undergoing justice, if the news reports were correct. So what the hell is he doing here?

A slight groan from him is the only response she gets, and, risking life and limb, she kneels next to him just to make sure that he’s not seriously injured.

But why should she care? This is the guy that tried to kill her and her friends, then attempted to take over the entire planet. Why should it bother her if he’s hurt?

She has no idea. Which really, really bothers her.

And while she’s been pondering this, Loki’s eyes have opened and he now stares up at her. From the glow of the headlights she can see that they’re a little glazed over and she gasps when his hand wraps firmly around her arm.

“Sigyn?”

“Uh, no. It’s Darcy, actually.”

“Sigyn....” he groans out the name, then goes silent as his body goes limp. 

Great. Now she has an unconscious psychopathic villain to deal with. At least she knows to skip the hospital this time; Asgardians bounce back pretty quickly from getting hit by a moving vehicle. Except now it’s just her and while Loki looks like a beanpole, he weighs a ton. Somehow she manages to get him into the back of the van and then out again and into her apartment. It’s times like now that she’s grateful for living on the ground floor. She settles him onto the couch, checking his pulse just to be sure, then sits on the coffee table and stares at him.

Now what?

It’s way too late to call Jane or Erik; she knows what their schedules are like when they’re at a conference and waking Jane up to tell her that her boyfriend’s brother is unconscious on her couch could result in giving the woman a heart attack. She’s sure that SHIELD would probably want to know about this, but she doesn’t have a number for them and she’s pretty certain that they’re not listed. It’s easy to get intimidated by this, to want to cry or scream or even curl up in the corner in fear. But she can handle this.

She is Darcy Lewis, tazerer (totally a word) of gods, almost holder of a B.A in Political Science.

She’s got this.

~~~

When she wakes up in the morning, she quickly becomes aware of just how much she _doesn’t_ have this. Loki is in her room, his face practically pressing against hers, his hand around her throat and he looks _furious_.

“Who are you?”

“Darcy Lewis.” It’s hard to make her voice sound all strong and confident when he’s straddling her and all that’s between her and a whole lot of leather is a threadbare comforter that’s seen better days and a mismatched set of pajamas. 

He growls a little, low in his throat, and now is seriously not the time for her thoughts to be going where they are. This is _Loki_ , would-be destroyer of Earth and all around bad guy.

But, _damn_ , why’d he have to be so good looking? Sure, she’s seen plenty of footage of him, but being up close and personal with the guy is different. He practically oozes power and it’s entirely not fair at all that he has to be the bad guy. Her thoughts are still firmly headed towards certain areas, and, as if he senses this, he backs off.

She sucks in a deep breath, then sits up, eyeing him as he starts pacing back and forth in her cramped bedroom. If she had know that she’d be playing host to a god she would have at least tidied up a bit.

“Where, exactly, am I?”

“My apartment.”

The look he shoots her freezes any other snippy remarks. “Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.”

This stops him dead in his tracks. He shakes his head, and it takes her a moment to realize that the noise coming from him is laughter. It’s a rather bitter laughter, but a laugh all the same.

“Of course he would send me here, of all the places on Midgard.”

“Yeah, speaking of. Why are you here? I thought you were undergoing justice, or whatever.”

“I have been banished to Midgard to complete my sentence.”

Her jaw drops for a moment. “Seriously? You were banished to the place that you had leveled with that giant fire breathing robot thing. On the planet that you tried to takeover.”

“Never let it be said that the All Father lacks a sense of humor.” 

“How is that considered punishment at all?”

“I am being constantly monitored. The moment I cause any physical harm to one of you mortals, the All Father will see fit to remove me of my powers.”

“And nearly choking me wasn’t considered physical harm?”

“It’s a very loose definition.” 

“So now what?”

He’s stopped pacing for now and leans against the wall, all lean muscle and leather and, okay, she really needs to focus on something else.

“Now I suppose that I am at your mercy until SHIELD arrives.”

“But how would SHIELD even know that you’re here?” His look stops any further questions on that. “Right. Super secret government agency. Well...are you hungry?”

~~~

SHIELD shows up three hours later.

Loki’s on his second pizza and they’re halfway through _Empire Strikes Back_ when she hears several cars pull up outside as her door is kicked in. She knows that she’s (mostly) innocent here, but armed men busting into your apartment instills the need to stand and raise your hands above your head.

Loki doesn’t even flinch. He simply takes another bite of pizza and glances up at the SHIELD agents before returning his gaze to the screen.

“Do you mind? We’re about to see whether or not Han Solo can successfully navigate through an asteroid field.”

“He does.” It’s a new voice, but one she instantly recognizes. “And you can put your hands down, Miss Lewis.”

“iPod thief! No offense, but you look like hell.” He really does. Pale and tired and way too thin, and she feels a little guilty at wondering if he still has her iPod.

“It’s Agent Coulson, and none taken.” Coulson eyes Loki and she can sense there’s something there that she’s missing.

Loki glances up and while she’s still without all of the details, she can tell that whatever it was happened between them. And that Loki wasn’t expecting to see Coulson again.

“Would somebody care to fill me in on the exact details as to how a wanted criminal ended up on your couch?” Coulson’s voice lacks any humor despite how funny it sounds to hear him put it that way.

She glances over at Loki who’s eerily silent as four SHIELD agents surround him.

“Apparently he’s been banished to Earth to complete his sentence. And yes, I recognize the irony in that. I was checking out some odd readings last night when I hit him with the van- “

“You hit him with the van?”

“- yes, and at least I didn’t taze him. I didn’t have anywhere else to take him, so...here we are.”

“And the pizza and movies?”

“He was hungry, and everybody should watch Star Wars at least once.”

She’s not sure, but she thinks she sees a smile tug at the corner of Coulson’s mouth. But it’s gone before she can say anything, and the next hour goes by in the blink of an eye. Loki’s escorted out, and so is she, but minus the restraints. They’re put in separate cars as they drive a few miles outside of town. There’s a jet-type thingy there, along with a pretty swanky looking private plane. She expects to be split up again, but Loki’s led onto the plane right after her.

Coulson pops in a few moments later.

“We’re taking you both to New York. I have Loki’s assurances that no harm will come to you, or anybody else. Agent Stills will ride with you to ensure this.” And with that, he exits.

“He doesn’t say much, does he?”

Agent Stills stays quiet, but Loki snorts. It’s a rather undignified sound for someone who seems so regal just sitting there.

The flight to New York is long, but actually quite amusing. Loki mumbles something about Midgardian technology every time the plane hits a pocket of turbulence, Agent Stills twitches whenever Loki so much as breathes differently, and Darcy takes full advantage of the bottle of scotch that’s in the small bar.

By the time they land she’s feeling pretty good and she’s actually a little grateful for the liquid courage when she sees all of the Avengers (minus Thor) waiting for them. Tony Stark approaches them first, and now is seriously not the time to fangirl but she may have let out a tiny little squeak.

“You’re Tony Stark.”

“Yes, yes I am. And you’re drunk, Darcy Lewis.”

“Not drunk! Tipsy. Tipsy is the word. Nice scotch, by the way.”

“You drank my thirty year old scotch?”

“Not all of it. But, yes.”

“You’re my kind of girl, Lewis.”

She grins at this, and the grin widens when she sees the slightly bored and irritated look on Loki’s face.

“Nice to see you again, Reindeer Games. You’re looking far less Hulk-smashed than last time.”

“Stark.”

Darcy glances back and forth between the two of them during their exchange like she’s watching a tennis match. She’s hoping for more, especially if Tony has any other nicknames, but the fun is ended when the same four SHIELD agents from before come to take Loki away.

She doesn’t even bother trying to hold back the frown.

“Come on, Lewis.” Tony wraps a friendly arm around her shoulders. “Let’s introduce you to the rest of our ragtag crew.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So let me get this straight...”

Darcy sits in a fancy chair in a fancy conference room in Stark Tower. Across the table is Coulson and Director Fury.

“I’m still three credits short of my degree and have about as much qualifications for this job as dubstep artists have to be considered musicians. But you’re still offering me a job?”

Fury doesn’t seem at all amused by her jokes, and she wonders if he’s even capable of showing human emotion. Coulson, on the other hand, almost looks like he’s smirking and she has to give him credit for even getting the reference.

She likes him instantly.

“Given your experience with Doctor Foster we feel that you have more than enough qualifications for a position with SHIELD.” Fury is all business. Darcy imagines adding some rhinestones to his eyepatch and has to bite back a giggle.

“And what exactly would I be doing?”

“Your official title would be administrative assistant to agent Coulson. But your primary duties will include getting certain members up to speed on the current trends of popculture.”

“So I get to teach Loki and Captain America about memes and why they should avoid Twilight like the plague?” 

Again, nothing from Fury, but this time she definitely catches Coulson smirking. 

Yup, she definitely likes him.

“More or less, yes. We’re not sure why, but Loki has expressed an interest in having you assigned to his case.” This from Coulson, and she pretends to ignore the slight hitch in his breath when he utters the name. “We’ll, of course, have another agent as the primary handler. But we’re just as curious as you to see how this will all play out.”

“Just as long as nobody’s spoiled him on the ending of Empire yet. I don’t want to have to deal with a pissed off Loki.”

“Oh, trust me. I would never sink as low as that, Miss Lewis.”

Fury just stares at them. “What are you two even talking about?”

Darcy blinks and stares right back. Coulson almost looks upset.

“Um, Star Wars? The Empire Strikes Back? One of the greatest movies ever?”

Fury waves them both off. “Oh. Never seen Star Wars. Don’t really plan on it. And could we please get back to business?”

There’s a lot of paperwork to fill out and she’s pretty sure she’s signing her life away. But there’s an amazing benefits package, including a clothing stipend, and, hey, a security clearance too! She’s never had a security clearance. Or a benefits package with health insurance that would actually cover things, or a clothing stipend.

Later, when she’s done, she walks out with Coulson. Once Fury’s out of earshot she turns to him.

“Can you believe that he’s never seen Star Wars?”

~~~

Turns out that part of the benefits packages for working for SHIELD includes an apartment in Stark Tower. It’s about five times the size of her apartment in New Mexico, and at least ten times the size of anything she’d be able to afford on her own. She spends about the first twenty minutes just walking around and checking everything out. It’s got the latest Stark tech, all the way from the lights and entertainment system to the shower controls. The view of New York City is breathtaking, and the bed is easily the most comfortable bed she’s ever laid on in her entire life.

So, in a word, it’s awesome.

What’s even more awesome than that is the fact that Avengers also have apartments in Stark Tower. They’re not all always there at the same time, but in the first week she manages to see all of them. And seeing the heros in as their normal selves, doing mundane things like laundry or cooking is pretty trippy. But also really cool.

She’s still a little intimidated by them, but Tony makes sure to involve her as much as possible. Like dinners up in his penthouse and, tonight, movie night. It’s just more reasons for her to question if this is, seriously, her life now. Especially as they get settled in for the movie and she’s sitting between Iron Man and Captain America, and Hawkeye asks her to pass the popcorn. In her head she knows that it’s just Tony and Steve and Clint, but these are the people who saved the world from Loki’s army of aliens.

And speak of Loki, he’s here too. He’s sitting about as far away from everyone as he can get, and he’s only here because she insisted it would be good for them. And the entire group, really. She gets that they all have issues with him; he brainwashed Clint, essentially called Natasha a cunt and threw Tony out a window. And those who didn’t have a personal issue with him were all still holding resentment over the supposed death of Coulson (who only ‘died’ thanks to Fury manipulating everyone). Really, they all seriously just needed to go on Doctor Phil, but she knows how much of a paperwork nightmare that would be, so having Loki come to movie nights it was.

Tony seems to be the most okay with Loki, or at least the one not glaring daggers at him. That would be Clint, but he’s got a pretty decent excuse for that. Natasha just seems distant, but that’s how she always seems to Darcy. Steve is too polite to say anything, and Bruce, well, Bruce is Bruce. Slightly awkward and aloof and, seriously, the guy needs to meet Jane because it would be science romance at first sight.

Tonight’s movie is Sucker Punch: a movie about kick-ass girls doing kick-ass things. Darcy loves it instantly, and Natasha seems to as well, except for her and Clint bickering about the action sequences. Steve blushes every time too much skin is shown, Tony goes on a monologue about how he could improve some of the weapons used, and Loki just sits there and rolls his eyes.

“Our own Darcy here is pretty kick-ass herself,” Tony slings an arm around her like an older brother would, and she instantly feels a part of the Avengers family.

“Well, I guess...”

“Oh, don’t be so modest. You’ve hit two Asgardians with a van.”

“You did what now?” This from Clint who stops bickering with Natasha long enough to pay attention to this particular conversation.

“Okay, so we hit Thor. But that was totally Jane’s fault because she grabbed the wheel out of my hands.”

“And then you tazed him.” Tony is eating this up, if the grin on his face is any indication.

“You tazed thor?” This from Bruce.

“Hell yes, I tazed him. He was acting all crazy.” 

Loki snorts, and it’s the first noise he’s made all evening. The group ignores him, but she can tell that Loki is getting some amusement out of hearing this.

“You hit Loki too,” Tony adds in. Loki winces. Darcy actually feels a little guilty.

“Yeah, that was totally all me.”

“I think we could find a spot for you in the rotation.” Tony’s still grinning. “Darcy Lewis: Tazerer and hitter of gods.”

The whole group laughs at this, and when she glances over at Loki she can see the ghost of a smile gracing his lips.

~~~

She catches up with Loki a few days later. He’s in the lounge, reading something on a Stark tablet. He’s picked up on the tech remarkably fast, but they still have a ways to go on culture and, as a direct part of her job, pop culture.

“Hey.” He glances up and she feels a slight amount of regret at interrupting him. “Anything good?” She nods towards the tablet as he sets it down.

“Something called _The Hunger Games_. It was on the list of your recommendations.”

The list was made in a rush and was only meant as suggestions, but she feels... something, she’s not sure what, at hearing him mention it. Even more so that he’s following her suggestions. And this is where she, again, has to tell her brain to shut up and _not_ go there. Even if it’s rather inviting mostly due to her penchant for falling for the bad guys.

Loki’s staring up at her now, and she quickly recovers before making a total fool out of herself.

“We never finished watching Empire Strikes Back. I was wondering if you wanted to see the rest.”

“I do suppose that I could do that.”

She grins and gets the movie fired up, cueing up the asteroid scene. Honestly, she spends most of the movie watching Loki watch it. He’s almost enraptured by it, not saying a thing. Especially at the end and the big reveal of Luke Skywalker’s parentage. He actually frowns a little here, and it’s not until the movie ends and the credits are rolling that she remembers what she read in his file about his parentage.

Oh, shit.

“I’m sorry, Loki. I didn’t even think that...”

“No.” It comes out a little forcefully, and he takes a moment before speaking again. “No, it’s alright. I admit I was actually curious about his father and was not expecting that particular twist. The ending is quite... morose, for what I had come to expect of Midgardian movies. Luke has lost a hand and discovered his father is Darth Vader, and Han Solo was encased in carbonite. Yet you claim this is your favorite of this series?”

Darcy almost smiles at that. Loki’s a quick study. “Yes, it is. And I think it’s because of that reason that it’s my favorite, along with a lot of other people. The good guys don’t always win, it’s just not realistic. But it does get better in Return of the Jedi, if you want to watch that next. There’s even another reveal of a twist.”

Loki remains silent for a moment, then nods. “Yes. I think I would like that.”

~~~

They work their way through the prequels, even if they’re not exactly that great. But Darcy is a completist, dammit, and as much as the dialogue leaves much to be desired they’re still a part of the story. Loki is, predictably, incredibly interested in Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side. And he makes fun of the awful lines between Padme and Anakin along with her, and has the same reaction (horror and annoyance) to Jar Jar Binks. Mace Windu is another favorite and they both remark on just how much he looks like Director Fury, and maybe Fury really secretly is a Jedi. 

Needless to say, her educational sessions with Loki are fun and she still can’t believe that she actually gets paid for this.

After Star Wars they transition over to Lord of the Rings. Loki really gets into those, especially all the different races and creatures, and she wonders if he’s actually seen people in his realms like that. She asks as much, and winds up getting a three hour primer on the Nine Realms and their inhabitants.

The Nine Realms? Sound so much cooler than Middle Earth. 

She figures that Harry Potter is the next logical step, but makes Loki read all seven books first because, thank you, the books are so much better than the movies. Once he finishes those (in less than a week - he loves reading) they start in on the movies and have entirely too much fun comparing them to the book version.

Loki’s favorite character - a shock here - is Snape. 

When they get to Snape’s death scene (in which she still cries like a baby), Loki looks visibly upset despite knowing that it was coming.

“It still seems like such a waste.”

She nods, always agreeing with that. She remembers being so mad when she first read Snape’s death. 

“Yeah, well, at least they knew that he was really on their side the entire time.”

“You really think so? What if it was all just an elaborate act?”

Darcy can’t hide her smirk. “You know that there’s actually a book devoted entirely to debating over whether or not Snape was a good guy or a bad guy?”

Five minutes later, they’re both reading it on their tablets.

~~~

So she’s not exactly friends with Loki; it’s only been a month since meeting him (hitting him with the van) and that’s not really quite enough time to become friends with a reforming super villain. But they’re not exactly just acquaintances either. What they have is some sort of indefinable middleground. She enjoys spending time with him, and, based on his moods after their sessions, he seems to enjoy it as well.

This is brought up at her one month review. Both Coulson and Fury are impressed by the progress she’s made with him, and she’s allowed to continue on her cultural education of Loki.

Captain America, er, Steve, is another matter. He’s slower to catch on to things and she’s always hyper-conscious of what she says around him because it almost always makes him blush. But still, he really is a sweet guy.

He’s also perfect for her; all-American, nice, great with everyone. He’s the kind of guy that you can be proud to take home to mom and dad. And when you add in that whole hero thing, well, that pretty much seals the deal. But the only problem with all of this?

He’s too perfect. Too sweet. And totally not the guy for her.

Not that Loki’s the guy for her either. He’s the very definition of the bad boy, the one you can’t take home to mom and dad. Yet she’s drawn to him all the more, maybe because of that. She’s always had a thing for the bad guy, and Loki pretty much fits all of the requirements for that.

After two months she realizes that she and Loki really are friends. They bitch to each other about their days, share meals (and steal bites off of each other’s plates) and even start going to each other for advice (which is really more Loki coming to her than the other way around). And somehow, she’s okay with this. Her other friends are all super heros, so why not have a friend that’s an ex-super villain?

At month three, she discovers that she’s starting to like him much, much more than a friend. And that’s when she knows just how much trouble she’s in.


	3. Chapter 3

With all the education she’s done for Loki over the past three months, she figures it’s time she should do a little for herself. She knows the basic from his file; he’s got some serious daddy issues, god of mischief, magic wielder and all that. He’s given her some more information as well, but she’s still curious about a few things.

Like who the hell Sigyn is.

The question has been burning her mind ever since Loki called her that name, twice. She’s just never asked him, whether out of respect for something that likely has significance to him, or out of a fear of what the answer will be. 

But the curiosity has become too much, so one night after work she hops online and does some research on Sigyn.

Huh. Sigyn, according to mythology, was Loki’s wife. Or will be Loki’s wife, because after she falls prey to the Wikipedia curse of clicking on subsequent links, she winds up reading both the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. It’s all pretty confusing and vague, and certain events can be seen as either happening already, or happening in the future. Especially the whole Ragnarok bit. It sounds like it’s a future event, but the bit about the world being repopulated by two surviving humans makes it seem as though they could be Adam and Eve.

But really, the main fact is that Loki, for some reason, called her Sigyn. Twice. If Ragnarok has already happened, then she must remind Loki of the woman who helps him during his captivity and in a roundabout sort of way helps bring about Ragnarok when she leaves to empty the bowl of venom. Or she somehow becomes Sigyn, or something.

Or maybe he was just really delirious after, you know, falling from the sky and being hit by a van. 

No matter the reason behind it, she still wants to know.

Loki, as is his usual evening tradition, is in the lounge reading something on the tablet. Darcy doesn’t even bother to open up with a ‘hi’ to get his attention.

“So, I read basically all there is to know on Norse mythology.”

“Ah.” He doesn’t glance up from the tablet. “It always amuses me to read what the Midgardians have written about us.”

“You called me Sigyn.” Now that gets his attention. “Twice.”

“Did I?” He sets the tablet down to glance over to her. There’s a mixed look of amusement and curiosity on his face. For the god of mischief (and lies), he’s got an awful poker face. 

“Yes.” She sighs, feeling her frustration start to rise. “Cut the crap, Loki. Why did you call me the name of your wife?”

He sighs, and she braces herself for the worst. “I did not want to mention this before, lest I frighten you. But I have reason to believe that you are, in fact, Sigyn.”

She eyes him. “You think I’m the reincarnation of your wife?”

“Yes. There can be no other explanation as to why we were drawn together that night.”

Is he serious?

He’s serious. Or he’s just pulling the biggest prank ever, so she waits a moment for that trademark smirk of his.

Nothing.

“You mean other than the fact that I was out investigating the readings that turned out to be caused by you being cast down to Earth?”

“There were no unusual circumstances that evening? Nothing out of the ordinary?”

“Nope.” She pauses. “Well, now that you mention it...”

“Yes?”

“The drive-through did give me a regular coke instead of a diet.”

Loki scoffs, and for a second looks like he may throw a pillow at her. She tries not to laugh. 

“Seriously, Loki. I’m just Darcy Lewis, administrative assistant to Phil Coulson, still three credits short of a degree. I was born to Mark and Tracy Lewis in Sioux City, Iowa. I’m not your dead wife, or future wife, and I’m not in some way involved with the previous or as of yet happened end of the world.”

He’s almost _pouting_ now.

“Trust me. There’s nothing special about me.” She shrugs before turning around to leave, and misses the “Yes, yes there is,” from him.

~~~

Jane shows up right at month four. It took her so long to finally cave in to SHIELD’s offer, mostly because she was still (understandably) mad about the whole Thor thing. But once she sees the benefits package and, more importantly, the lab equipment, she’s sold. The job offer also comes with about a dozen (actually qualified) lab assistants, but Darcy’s job description is altered to include being on poptart and coffee duty for Jane.

It takes a week for Jane to get settled in before they’re able to get together for one of their ice cream, booze and movie nights. It’s just like being back in New Mexico, except for the much larger TV, better booze and ice cream that’s not half-melted because of the older than dirt freezer.

“So he thinks you’re his ex-wife? Or future wife? That’s... endearing. Creepy, but endearing.”

“Tell me about it.” Darcy groans around a mouth full of ice cream. “Worse yet, I like him. Like, _like_ him, like him.”

Jane pauses mid-bite and sets the spoon down in her tub of ice cream. She has the ‘look’, and Darcy knows she’s in for a major lecture.

“And what have you done about this?”

“I know, I know. He’s all wrong for me, the bad guy, I should stay away from him...” Darcy responds before processing what Jane had said. “Wait - what? No lectures on how he’s not right for me? How I should avoid him?”

Jane shrugs before taking another bite of ice cream. “My boyfriend, or whatever he is, isn’t exactly a shining example of humanity either. He did nearly start a war, even if his brother was responsible for it all. So who am I to judge?”

“Huh.” Darcy sets the ice cream aside for now and settles in on her glass of rum and coke. Because rum solves everything! Or really, it doesn’t, because it only makes you wind up making a list of the pros and cons of liking Loki. All in alphabetical order, and color coded too. She’s got some serious office supplies thanks to SHIELD, and, dammit, she’s going to put them to good use.

“Looks good in leather!” Jane says, emphasizing her point by waiving her spoon in the air. “Don’t forget that!”

“Hey.” Darcy narrows her eyes at Jane. “You’ve got your own god to oggle. Lay off mine.”

“He’s not yours.”

“Semantics.”

She adds ‘looks good in leather’ to the pros. So far there’s only three, while there’s at least a dozen cons. Most of which relate to that whole ex-super villain thing.

“Ooh!” Darcy grins as the next pro comes to mind. “If you marry Thor, and I marry Loki, then we’d sort of be sisters in law!”

“Sorta.”

“Again. Semantics.” She adds it to the pros as well. “Still counts.”

Darcy steps back a moment to eye her handy work. It’s really not looking so great, and she frowns.

“So...start out as friends and go from there?”

“Well. We are friends. Sorta. So the only problem is going from there, because I have no idea how to go from there with him. Do the Asgardians have any sort of weird courting rituals?”

“I wouldn’t know. Thor didn’t exactly get much time to court me.”

“Oh. Yeah. But did you, you know...”

“What?”

“Get to check out his hammer?”

“Darcy!”

“What? You’re the one that always keeps telling me to keep an inquisitive mind!”

They both erupt into uncontrollable laughter after that, and the list is forgotten for the rest of their evening.

Sometime after the movie (Princess Bride, of course) is over, Jane speaks up.

“The rum is gone.” Jane pouts. “Why is the rum always gone?”

“Easy there, Captain Jack. I think we’ve both had enough.”

She makes sure Jane (drunkenly) stumbles safely back to her apartment before she passes out herself.

~~~

Out of pure luck, or just bad timing, Darcy doesn’t see much of Loki for the next two weeks. And what little time they are together is spent actually educating him, and not figuring out how to tell the extremely powerful yet devastatingly good looking Asgardian god that you want to be more than just friends.

She almost, _almost_ blurts it out one afternoon in the midst of discussing the ins and outs of communication in the digital age, but she’s, thankfully, saved by Jane. The woman is frantic, but thankfully Darcy is fluent in Jane and is able to decipher the facts; Jane is close to a breakthrough in repairing (recreating maybe?) the bifrost, and needs Darcy’s help because the other lab assistants don’t understand the old equipment. Only Darcy does.

So she says a hurried goodbye to Loki, and sees even less of him for the next three weeks as her life becomes a blur of notes and equipment adjustments. And then, finally, on the eve of the fourth week (on a Thursday, no less), they’re all driving out to the middle of nowhere to test out the machine.

It works, and Thor is the first thing through.

There’s a lot of cheering and celebration, and more cheering and clapping when Jane and Thor rush into each other’s arms just like one of those cheesy romantic slow motion movie moments.

Loki is there too, just in case the first thing through was something other than Thor. The reunion between brothers is far less movie-worthy, but moving all the same. They sort of stare at eachother for a few moments before Thor moves forward to take Loki into a strong embrace. At first it looks like Loki wants to flee, his body stiff, but after the span of a heartbeat his body relaxes and he returns the embrace. They both laugh, and the smile on Loki’s face does all sorts of things to her stomach.

They all travel back to Stark Tower where Tony (Pepper) has managed to put together an incredibly well organized (and well stocked) impromptu party. Seriously, there’s even waiters with trays of food and drinks wandering around. 

The celebration rages on into the wee hours of the night, and the more the alcohol flows, the friendlier people seem to be getting. There also seems to be a rather noticeable thinning of the crowd. At one point she swears she sees Natasha and Clint sneak off together (ha! she knew it!) but is thrown for a loop when Coulson exits a few moments later.

Huh.

Jane and Thor are far less stealthy about their exit, and she’s pretty sure she even hears a small round of applause as Thor hefts Jane into his arms to carry her out.

Bruce made his excuses to leave long ago, and while Steve is not normally the kind of guy who strikes her as being in to random party hookups, she watches with her mouth hanging slightly open as he’s dragged off by someone who looks suspiciously like that waitress from the coffee shop just a few blocks away.

So that just leaves her, and Loki, and a handful of other miscellaneous SHIELD employees.

The few, the proud, the single. 

Not that she’d been watching him the entire time (she totally was), but Loki had seemed fairly social for the majority of the evening. At one point it even looked like he was having an actual civil conversation with Clint and Natasha. Now he stands off to the side of the room, looking serious and contemplative. She walks over to him, and she’d be lying if she felt any guilt at interrupting his solitude.

“It was great seeing you and Thor together, all brotherly like.” Brotherly like? So lame, Darcy. She manages to make a quick recovery. “I’m happy for you.”

What happens next happens in slow motion; whether from a surge of nerves, or perhaps a little liquid courage, she wraps her arms around him for a quick hug. Her head moves to press a kiss to his cheek, but in that very moment his head moves, and their lips wind up meeting.

She’s kissing Loki.

Kissing.

Loki.

Something disconnects in her brain right around the moment his arms wrap around her. His lips are soft, yet they carry every ounce of power that he almost subconsciously exudes. The kiss doesn’t last very long, just a few seconds. But when she pulls back she’s breathless and her head is spinning, and she knows that the blame doesn’t entirely lay with the alcohol.

“I, uh, should go. Goodnight!” 

She makes a hasty retreat, entirely missing the slightly confused yet slightly hungry look in Loki’s eyes.

When Darcy sees him again a few days later, they don’t talk about the kiss. It’s not brought up at all, like it never even happened. Which, really, she’s okay with. Because she’s still in the phase of examining exactly what the kiss meant, and talking about it now would only make things that much more confusing. And, sure, things become a little awkward between them. But they’ve always been a little awkward, so what’s a little more awkwardness?

It’s the next week, when she saves Loki’s life, that things start to get really complicated.


	4. Chapter 4

Honestly, it’s not like she woke up that morning and put ‘save Loki after he’s saved you’ on her to-do list. In fact, it’s the last thing she would ever want to do, mostly because saving him after him saving her would involve the need to be saved in the first place. And she knows that, given her employer, her chances of getting caught up in the villain du jour’s plot increased exponentially. But she’s been here for a few months now with nothing happening and, dammit, she wanted to keep it that way.

Best laid plans, and all that.

The day starts like any other, really. Wake up, confirm that, yes, this really is her life as she eats her breakfast while staring out the floor-to-ceiling window that takes up almost an entire wall of her apartment. This is followed by a shower with obscenely amazing water pressure, then dressing in clothes that cost more than a semester’s worth of books before she takes a short ride down to her office. Which is really a cubicle among a whole farm of the things, but she likes to think of it as her office. It’s a Tuesday, so Steve will be busy training and Loki usually likes to lay low, so her day doesn’t have much to offer.

By eleven, that all changes.

Doom (or at least she’s pretty sure it’s Doom because there are robots) attacks. Chaos erupts, and she’s somehow caught up in the middle of that chaos while on an emergency poptart run for Jane.

There’s a lot of screaming (not all of it her’s) and running around and then, thank all the gods (because she knows two personally) the Avengers plus Loki show up. It get’s a little hazy from there, but at one point Loki saves her from a giant robot, then she’s saving him.

And then it’s a mess of more complicated, which is what she does not want at all. They had just finally gotten over the whole kiss thing, but life saving is on a completely different level. Yes, she’s grateful for him swooping in to magick her away, and she says as much to him a few times. But Loki, well, Loki is a different story. Asgardians must take things like that way seriously, because he seems to think that he owes her now. Which would almost be cool, and maybe a little sweet, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s practically become her shadow.

It’s been three weeks now, and with Loki showing up almost everywhere just to ‘check on her’, she’s about at her limit of him. Which is saying a lot considering how she feels about the guy. She never would have guessed there was a limit on hunky Asgardian God time, but she’s reached it.

He’s popped in at work, the first time having caused a slight amount of alarm from her fellow cubicle monkeys. He’s popped in while she’s eating, which wasn’t too much of a bother because it’s the dining hall and at least people were used to seeing him there. He’s even shown up in the lounge, which again wasn’t too bad, mostly because it’s where they hung out a lot.

But now, he’s in her apartment.

And it’s not nearly as sexy (or terrifying) as the first time back in New Mexico. More than anything, it’s annoying because, hello? Personal space? It’s obviously still a concept he’s struggling with and while she normally wouldn’t be so put out by the appearance of an Asgardian God in her apartment she, as stated already, has so reached her limit.

But instead of yelling or screaming or reaching for her tazer, she just sighs and shakes her head as she eyes him closely. He’s gone for the casual look today, jeans and a nice sweater and hot damn she really needs to focus here.

“Dude. Seriously. I am not Han Solo, and you are not Chewbacca.”

Two finely cultured eyebrows raise. “I fail to see how those two relate to our particular situation.”

She sighs. “In the books Han saves Chewie, so Chewie owes Han a life debt.”

“There are books?” His eyes light up a little and it figures that’s what Loki singles out as the most important part of the conversation. It’s almost endearing.

She sighs again.

“Yes, there are books. Lots of books, some good, some bad. If you want, I can make you a list, and- this is all besides the point. You don’t owe me anything, Loki. Technically, you saved me first. So I was just repaying that. So. We’re even.”

It works. Or at least it’s looking that way, because Loki goes quiet and gets all contemplative. And damn, does he look good when his brows furrow slightly that way and, no, she’s totally not staring. After a few short moments of silence he lets out a quiet sigh, then nods his head.

“So be it, Darcy Lewis. If that is how you wish it to be.”

Oh, dramatic much?

“Look, I like you Loki. “ Shit. SHIT! She scrambles to cover up the extra meaning behind that. “You’re a good friend, in a weird sort of way I guess. But I don’t want you thinking that you owe me something.”

This seems to satisfy him, and he gets that small little smirk of a smile on his face that makes her stomach go all wobbly.

“I too consider you a friend, Darcy. In a weird sort of way.”

All of her SHIELD training finally comes in handy in that moment when she somehow manages to contain her squeal and the desire to jump up and down.

So she waits until he’s been gone for a good five minutes before doing it.

~~~

Things quiet down after that, and there’s the odd moment where she finds herself actually missing Loki.

Very odd, indeed.

Mostly because she’s been trying so hard to convince herself to only think of him as a friend, and limit how much she thinks of him in the first place. So this whole thing is obviously a case of reverse psychology; the less she tries to think of him, the more she thinks of him overall. 

It comes in random moments, like the middle of the day when she’s typing up a report (that has nothing at all to do with him) or when she’s grabbing a late lunch because she’s so swamped with work. Loki will pop into her head, and she’ll think about the last conversation they had, or the way his mouth hitches to the left when he laughs or how she’s bummed that she missed their somewhat standing (but totally not) lunch date.

She _misses_ Loki, and that just can’t happen.

Because they’re friends. Just friends, two people travelling through life together. Not soul mates or star crossed lovers or mythical husband and wife. Friends.

Too bad that’s getting harder and harder to buy with each passing day.

So she tries to distract herself, to distance herself without seeming obvious about it. Loki’s a pretty intuitive person, so if she’s not careful he’ll pick up on things. Which is a complication she doesn’t need. At all. 

She goes out more with Jane. Well, she goes out more with Jane when she manages to A) Pull her away from her work or B) Pull her away from Thor. Which honestly doesn’t happen a lot, so she branches out and starts going out on her own. Sure, going out alone is probably just asking for trouble. Especially when she starts noticing Loki popping up at the same clubs or bars as her. When she asks him about this one day he waves it off as a coincidence.

Right.

The _coincidence_ gets harder to believe when she spots him, again, for the fifth week in a row. She’s about to confront the prince of lies when a voice stops her.

“Darcy Lewis, you hooker!”

Now, normally this would cause her to immediately taze the jerk in the balls, but she recognizes the voice in about half a second.

“Carl Strum, you slut!”

They both laugh, then launch themselves at each other for a hug. She hasn’t seen Carl since high school and this is totally the boost she’s been needing for a while.

“What the hell are you doing in NYC?”

“Long story, Carl. Very long. And mostly boring. You?”

“Well-” Carl starts to tell his tale, then he just... fades out of existence.

Darcy immediately spins around to spot Loki approaching.

“What the hell, Loki?”

“That man insulted your honor. Either that, or Midgardians have even odder courting rituals than I assumed.”

“He’s not courting me.”

“Well, why not? He looks to be of your age and you seemed quite enthused to see him.”

“Loki, he’s gay.”

“What does his state of happiness have to do with anything?”

Darcy sighs.

“Like, _gay_ gay. As in, he only likes other men.”

“Oh. Well, I fail to see the importance of that either.”

She sighs again.

“It doesn’t matter, but that’s besides the point - bring him back!”

Loki heaves his own sigh, waves his hand, and Carl reappears.

“- and how could I say no to an offer like that?”

She smiles and nods as if she’s heard the whole thing, because Carl is showing no signs of being aware of what’s just happened. Which is probably for the best, because she’s in no mood to do the paperwork if he did. Loki disappears off into the crowd again, and for the rest of the night she’s left wondering if Loki did it because he’s jealous, or if she’s just hoping that he did it because he’s jealous.

Darcy isn’t sure which is better.

~~~

It happens again, three weeks later.

She’s at a dive bar, emphasis on the dive. It’s so far below whatever ridiculous standards she’s sure Loki has that she feels safe in her assumption that there won’t be any incidents tonight.

Oh, how wrong she is.

Darcy’s four (okay, five) shots in and currently flirting up a storm with a particularly nice slice of eye candy (whose name totally escapes her at the moment). Things are about to progress to the standard ‘your place or mine’ level when he disappears.

She growls a little, then turns on her heel and pierces Loki with a death glare.

“Loki! You just can’t keep on vanishing people because you don’t like what they’re saying to me!”

Loki actually seems offended by this, and perhaps a bit hurt. 

Good.

“That man had less than honorable intentions towards you.”

She laughs at him. Actually laughs, and, okay, so the four (five) shots aren’t helping. But it’s so like him to say that, and also so incredibly frustrating that she wants to scream. And she figures that laughing is much better than screaming.

“Yeah? Well, maybe I want him to have less than honorable intentions towards me! It’s a hell of a lot better than the incredibly honorable ones you seem to have for me!”

Oh, hell. Oh _shit_. She totally hadn’t planned on saying that. Not now, not here, not ever. But the words are out, and all she can do is brace for impact.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” She sighs the answer out.

“Well, why did you not say so sooner?”

He’s standing before her in the blink of an eye, and in the next blink he’s kissing her. There’s a kiss, and then there’s a _kiss_ \- the kind backed up by weeks (months) of tension and sideways glances and thinly veiled flirting. The kind that possesses you, mind body and soul. A kiss that you feel all the way down to your toes. She’s never been kissed like this before and she hopes that all future kisses from Loki will be like this. And is she seriously already thinking that far in advance?

Yes.

Oh _hell_ yes.

The kiss (unfortunately) stops and she’s left breathless and lightheaded to the point of needing to hold onto Loki for balance as he pulls away. It’s so utterly cliche, but in this moment she’s a little in love with cliche. Okay, so a lot in love with cliche. She stares up at him and from the look in his eyes he must feel the same way as well.

Bryan (Brad? Ben?) pops back into existence and she’s pretty sure that Loki’s done a little extra work because instead of continuing where he left off in their conversation, he’s off working his charm on someone else.

Oh, darn. She’s heartbroken. Really.

One look from Loki and Bryan (Dan, maybe?) is completely forgotten. Loki takes her by the hand and leads her out of the bar, and instead of magicking them back to Stark Tower, they walk. The fresh air is doing wonders for her fuzzy head and by the time they reach the tower she’s (mostly) sober. He leads her to her apartment and when he doesn’t immediately follow her in, she turns around and leans against the doorframe.

“Aren’t you going to come in?” It’s meant to sound all seductive but comes out a little too much on the sad and desperate side for her liking. She almost winces at herself and hopes that Loki ignores that.

“Not tonight, no.” He moves a finger to brush a strand of hair out of her face. “What I have planned for you requires a completely clear mind.”

Oh, damn. She shivers lightly and tries not to pay attention to how that shot straight to between her legs.

“But can’t you like, magick the alcohol away or something?”

“I suppose that I could, but that would be cheating.” She nearly pouts and opens her mouth to offer a very serious rebuttal, but he continues before she gets the chance. “Besides, I’ve often heard the saying that anticipation only heightens the reward.” To call his grin anything but devious would be an complete and utter understatement.

She shivers again, then lets out a quiet sigh as he presses a kiss to her forehead.

“Goodnight, Darcy.”

Loki leaves after that, and she stares at his retreating form for a while before closing her door and letting out another sigh.

That night she dreams in greens and golds.


	5. Chapter 5

They don’t get to the good stuff the next night. Or the night after that, or really for the next few weeks. And while it’s a little (okay, a lot) frustrating, part of her knows that it’s probably for the best if her past failed relationships are any indication. Rushing into things, especially sex, only complicated matters. And dating an ex-supervillain was about as complicated as it gets, so the fewer additional complications, the better.

But there’s at least a lot of making out.

Like, a lot. More than she’s ever made out before. And it’s the good making out - slow and sensual and toe curling. Not the fumbling hands and too-sloppy kisses of high school, or hands going straight for second base like in college. No, with Loki it’s one build up. A slow burn. He possesses her whenever they’re together, and she knows that she’ll never want anybody else again the way she wants Loki.

The sex finally happens almost a month after that night in the bar, and she seriously does not do a victory shout after.

Well, okay, there may have been a small cry of victory, but the cry was also due to what was the most earth shattering orgasm of her entire life. No lies. It sounds so cliche and lame and something you only read in cheesy romance novels, but she totally did see stars.

They lay together in the dark, basking in the afterglow of it all. Bodies slick with sweat, but neither seems to mind as he pulls her in against him. She rests her head on his chest and listens to his heart beat.

“You were right.”

“Hmm? About what?”

She moves her head to rest her chin on his chest so she can look at him. “About anticipation heightening the reward. That was....wow.”

Loki grins and lets out a small chuckle. “Then I suppose that you won’t have any objections to a repeat performance.”

Before she can say anything he has them flipped around, his hands pinning her wrists to the bed above her head. She lets out a tiny squeal of surprise and makes a half-hearted attempt to break free. Both know that she doesn’t want to go anywhere.

“I’ll take that as a no.” That devious grin of his returns as he leans down to kiss her.

Oh yes, she’s ready for round two.

~~~

Stark Tower is like a small town, and as with any small town news tends to travel fast. Not too long after their kiss in the bar there were already whisperings of things between her and Loki. By that month mark, it’s pretty much accepted as gospel that she and Loki are a thing.

She’s not sure how she feels about that.

Loki doesn’t seem to mind; relationships are treated differently on Asgard, apparently, so for him it’s nothing out of the ordinary for everyone to know that they’re together. In fact, he almost enjoys it. And not in a gloating sort of way, but a proud, somewhat possessive sort of way. The part of her that was a Women’s Studies major for a semester wants to scream at the possessive bit, but it’s always quickly silenced by the part of her that really, really enjoys being possessed in every way imaginable by Loki.

Obviously she doesn’t tell this to Coulson or Fury.

“This....relationship. It’s not going to be a problem, is it?”

Coulson is his usual quiet self, but Fury is staring at her like she’s grown a second head or something.

“I don’t know. Is it? Because he’s technically not an employee. Not that the fraternization rules are even that clear in the first place.”

This gets a ghost of a smirk from Coulson and if she’s not mistaken she’s pretty sure that Fury just rolled his eye.

Score one for Darcy Lewis.

“We’ve seen a remarkable change in his attitude and behavior and it’s our opinion that almost all of that has to do with you. And if it weren’t for this, then, yes, the relationship may be a problem. So for now we’re going to continue our observations.”

How sweet. SHIELD is giving their blessing for her to continue dating the ex-supervillain. Now she’s the one who almost rolls her eyes, but she refrains because she knows it won’t do any good.

There’s nothing else to say, so the meeting ends. But Coulson follows her and once they’re out of earshot of any other people he speaks.

“Are you happy?”

“Yes.” She answers without even needing to think about his question. “Very.”

Coulson nods, and she catches a smile before his face fades back to its usual stoic state. She watches him walk away before she heads back to her cubicle. And then nearly screams when Clint drops down from the ceiling.

“Jesus, Clint. One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, kid.”

She gives him a look because he knows how much she hates being called that. Even if she is one of the youngest members of SHIELD.

“So. You and Loki?”

“Yup.” She doesn’t even look up as she pulls up her email to see how much work she has left for the afternoon.

“Don’t mess it up.”

This stops her and she almost gets whiplash from looking up at him so quickly.

“Wait- what? He brainwashed you, and you’re giving me the don’t screw it up lecture?”

“In a way, yes. Loki seems...more balanced, whenever he’s with you. I don’t want to see you get hurt, believe me, but I don’t want him to get hurt either. If that makes sense.”

It does. Sort of. The general consensus from Fury and Coulson is that she’s a good thing for Loki. And if that makes the team happier, then she’ll do everything she can to keep it that way. She nods at him, and even graces him with a small smile to let him know that he hasn’t offended her or anything.

“Got it, Clint. And hey- does this mean that you’ve forgiven him for everything?”

There’s a long stretch of silence, then a slight shrug from Clint. “I’m getting there. Catch ya later, Darcy.”

“Later, Clint.”

He leaves just as quickly as he dropped in.

~~~

At month three, Thor is the next to give her a lecture about her relationship with Loki. From him, it makes more sense. But it’s still weird for her to be getting all the lectures and not Loki, though she has a feeling that he may be getting them anyways. Especially from Tony who’s unofficially adopted her as a little sister figure.

Poor Loki.

She’s in the lounge, enjoying the rare moment of silence as the others are off doing their own thing, when Thor walks in. He’s sans-Jane, which is her first sign that this isn’t a social call. Darcy sets down the tablet and sits up straighter on the couch, waiting for him to speak.

“You make my brother very happy, Darcy Lewis. I do not wish for this to change.”

Huh. Simple, yet straight to the point.

“I read ya loud and clear, big guy. He makes me very happy too.”

Thor nods at this, then gets a big grin on his face and before she can stop him she’s enveloped in a big hug.

“This makes me very happy, Darcy Lewis. And soon our friends and family will know of this too. Good night, my friend.”

Thor’s gone while she’s still processing what he said, and when it fully sinks in she practically runs from the lounge to track Loki down. He’s not in her apartment, so she goes straight to his without even knocking. He’s in the middle of a book (an actual book for once, and not the tablet) and there’s a mix of annoyance and concern that crosses his face as he sets it down.

“Thor just said that soon your friends and family will know about this. Us. Whatever. What does he mean?”

“It is tradition to introduce your betrothed to your friends and family. Is that not the same on Midgard?”

Whoa now. 

“Betrothed? Loki, we’ve been together for three months. We’re not betrothed.”

“We share the same bed, do we not? I realize that I have not formally asked your family for your hand, but I at least wish for you to meet mine first.”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down, please? Things work differently here, Loki. I mean, three months is great and all. But usually people, you know, live together for a while first. And then get betrothed, or engaged, or whatever.”

He’s frowning a little.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit. She knew she was going to fuck this up somehow. She just hoped that it wouldn’t be so soon.

“Darcy Lewis, I love you. I do not wish for you to be with another, nor do I wish to be with another. And if you feel that this is happening too fast, then so be it. I will wait until the end of time for you.”

Well, damn. That’s easily the most romantic thing anybody has ever said to her. And- hold on a second. Did he just say that he loves her?

“I. Well. Wow. Okay. You love me?”

“Yes. I do. And I would like very much for you to meet my friends and family on Asgard. As I would like to meet your friends and family.”

“I already met your friends when you sent that giant fire breathing robot. Remember?”

“Ah, yes. The destroyer. That was...unfortunate.”

She eyes him a little, but doesn’t respond to that. “And I thought your family were the ones to send you here in the first place. I didn’t think you could return.”

“Consider it a surprise visit?”

She sits down next to him, half turned on the couch so she can face him. His eyes seem impossibly green as they stare at her and she has no idea what else to say in this moment. So she lets the rational part of her brain takeover.

“Well. There’s going to be a lot of paperwork needed for a trip to Asgard, but I already know which forms to use. So that helps. My parents will be more complicated. They still don’t know exactly what I do. But I bet I can talk to Coulson and get them to sign a few NDA’s...”

She’s rambling now, but rational Darcy usually tends to do that. Loki humors her, but he’s grinning.

“Why Darcy Lewis, does this mean that you love me too?” It’s only half-teasing, but she swats his arm anyway.

“Yes. I love-”

He cuts her off by kissing her.


	6. Chapter 6

Darcy, somehow, manages not to offend anyone or make a complete ass of herself when they go to Asgard. There’s a minor hitch in things involving some armed guards when they first arrive. But that situation is, thankfully, handled by Frigga. Their arrival turns into a reunion, which then turns into one big giant party involving drinking and eating.

A lot of drinking and eating.

Also, she shares a room with Loki. Which is pretty hot and also incredibly grown up and maybe just a little scandalous. They definitely put forth a valiant effort into giving credence to the scandalous bit.

They stay in Asgard for almost a week, which turns out to be barely enough time to do and see everything, so Loki promises many return trips.

It’s that ‘many’ part that gives her some serious hope for their relationship.

When they return Jane is practically jumping at her chance to go and doesn’t even stick around long enough to ask her a series of endless questions. Jane and Thor spend almost two weeks in Asgard, and when they return it’s with big news; they’re engaged.

It’s really no surprise to anyone, and she can’t even seem to get a little upset or jealous over the fact that it happened to Jane first because she’s genuinely just so happy for them. And how could you not be? They’re so sweet and happy and perfect together and, hey, maybe it’ll be incentive for Loki to pop the question next.

But not before he meets her family. He’s insistent on this part.

Despite Tony’s offer of the private jet, they drive to Iowa. It gives her time to think (and prepare Loki to face her brothers) and it’s a great way to show off the country to him. He’s only slightly grumpy about the long distance road trip and winds up sleeping through most of Indiana (she doesn’t blame him for that). There are no armed guards waiting at her parents house, but there is a whole retinue of nieces and nephews to deal with. Loki handles this amazingly well and one night she catches him reading a story to the youngest of the bunch and she falls in love with him all over again.

Jane and Thor get married in a traditional service on Asgard. There’s a whole lot of paperwork involved in deciding the guest list, but somehow all of the Avengers and a good chunk of SHIELD make it there. The ceremony is gorgeous and the feast that follows it lasts for a week. It’s that final day of the feast when Loki finally proposes, and it’s good timing because the next day she finds out she’s pregnant.

It’s the perfect opportunity to freak out. And she does, a little, but it’s mostly in the form of planning a pretty angrily worded letter to the manufacturers of her birth control. Then again, she’s pretty sure that they didn’t exactly plan for non-human physiology and, really, with all the sex they’ve been having it was bound to happen eventually. She just wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. But Loki, being Loki, somehow manages to calm her down and convince her that everything will be alright.

She doesn’t always believe that, but has small moments of acceptance. Like when Bruce agrees to monitor the pregnancy and SHIELD (Fury himself) promises not to steal her baby for testing as soon as its born. Things progress fairly normally and aside from a horrific craving for ice cream, popsicles and all things frozen, she has very few complaints. Well, she has a few complaints, like when Loki insists on having the wedding before she’s fully showing, and, seriously, she’s pretty sure that even people on Asgard can do some basic math. But the wedding happens and it’s beautiful and perfect and absolutely everything she’d ever dreamed of.

Layla Brigit Lokisdottir comes into the world screaming and...blue. From what Darcy can remember from her human development classes, she knows that’s somewhat normal. But it’s a much deeper shade of blue and it takes longer for the newborn to fully pink up. But after a thorough exam from Bruce they’re both assured that everything is fine. Layla is perfect, ten toes, ten fingers, and all theirs.

Life after that settles down to be pretty normal.

Or as normal as it can get when you’re married to an ex-supervillain who is now kinda, sorta, a part of the Avengers. And maybe your daughter happens to turn a slight shade of blue whenever she cries when she’s upset, and your husband brings back a few of Idunn’s apples which you accidentally bake into a pie. But everything is okay, because this is, seriously her life.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
